Thursday, September 29, 2011

We I finally got a chance, after 2 years of "wanting to", to make a sign for Harmony Acres. It s fun creating things! A good friend is also making some way cool soap savers out of some amazing Juniper, so be on the look out for them! This is a busy month with all of the festivals, so come out and visit! We will be at the Brushy Mtn. Apple Festival on Sat. in front of Talias Espresso, so grab a coffee, and get smelly with us!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Well, obviously you have noticed that we have changes our page to Harmony Acres Soap Company. No worries, we are still the same people, doing the same stuff, raising the same kids (actually, they change everyday!), living on the same farm, with the same toilet that does not allow pears to be flushed. Where can a toilet that realizes that I have a one year old? Anyhow, that story later. Our soap company has been growing very slowly for about 5 years now, and it is time for the next phase. We are super excited! New methods, new colors, new cutters; all sorts of great additions! Our products have made it to the Charlotte area, thanks to a good friend (The Old Store, Huntersville), and the Mast General Stores have been rapidly moving products to soap needy customers! Green Mother Goods in Boone, and Mountain Girl Gallery have been a huge support to us, and the relationships have been awesome and continue to grow. Our products are now in the Banner Elk Winery, and several other stores in the area. This is such an exciting time! Our CSA program was a big success this year, and we have received a lot of great feedback from the members (thank you!), so our reasoning for stopping the program is simply a matter of choice (well, sort of, the soaps are calling, loudly!). Hopefully, in the future, when our children are a little older, some of them can continue on with the CSA program. This season, they played a HUGE roll in the harvesting, packing and creativity of each and every box we delivered, all 33 every week! Some of you may have also noticed that the soaps look a little different; that is because they are, even better! We are adding clays, and herbs for color and skin benefit, and we are also changing the shape so that we stand out a little more. The smells are going to be the same, as we are using the same essential oils, but now you get the added benefit of vibrant colors and more happy skin! Thank you everyone for all of your support and encouragement as we grow our family! -Dale

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Yes this is really a farm update! Wow, what a season we have had! There have been a lot of changes, some we are excited about, and some that we are sort of sad about. The CSA program for 2011 is about to come to an end; October 5th will be the last day. Currently we have many new fall crops coming in, and they are doing very well with the cooler weather! We have learned a lot this year, like grow tomatoes under cover or don't get attached to having them around! Our tomato crop this season was a huge failure, but the good thing about failure crops is that you reeducate yourselves heavily so that is is sure (almost sure anyway) to not happen again. The main change for the months to come here is that we are putting all of our efforts into our soap company. It has been about 2 years since we have had a growth spurt and we are finally ready! This is a very exciting time as we watch things fall into place that we have been envisioning for quite a while. Overall, our farming experience has been very good, and very fun, and we do not plan on stopping altogether, but we do not plan on doing a 2012 CSA program. It has been very rewarding to be able to supply fresh veggies for 34 families during this season, and we are sad that we will not be able to have a 2012 program. However, we know of several excellent farms in the area to choose from for a 2012 program! Farms that we often refer to as our "farm mentors". I am positive that we will have extra produce at the markets next season and hopefully the Wilkes market will continue. The Wilkesboro market had a great strong start, but lately it has fizzled out to just a few people, and from a vendors point of view, it is very saddening. Markets can only continue if the people want it! The town of Wilkesboro has put a lot of time and energy into creating an environment that is very appealing, along with a talented number of vendors who love interacting and helping the community, so support them! We do have a lot great local business's in the area as well that need your support as well, it's been a tough year! Thankfully most of us are dedicated to helping in whatever way we can, so the economic status does not determine our values! So spread the word, we wanted local and we got it, so let's keep it! Ok, as far as the farm goes, we are currently harvesting a lot of sweet potatoes. There are 5 varieties and we have loved all of them so far! The purple sweets are definitely very pretty to look at in a meal, and the whites are rare, so it's exciting to have them as well. we grew 2 other kinds that we have enjoyed as well, Bush Porto Ricans, and Georgia Jets. We also have an abundance of whole chickens available. Hopefully we will be updating a little more regularly as we grow! Let us know what you would like for the Tuesday drop off at Talias at 5pm. Otherwise you can make arrangements for a farm pick up. Have a good week! -Dale